I don't think it's anything serious - probably lubrication of the transport is all it needs, as it makes nasty noises and bogs down when rewinding or fast forwarding. It's not a problem with the tape cassette - happens the same with all tapes including those that work fine in other machines.
My local electronics repair shop, while very competent, is not willing to take this on. Does anyone know of anyone who repairs vintage equipment such as this?
Thanks...